1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a stabilizing and winching combination device which mounts by quick attach on the front of a skid steer loader or similar machine. Most skid steer loaders have the quick attachment feature as standard equipment since many attachments from buckets to forks to hydraulic rotary equipment are used on these machines. The present stabilizing and winching attachment uses the same standard quick attachment plate as the other attachments mentioned.
The present invention when attached to the skid steer loader or similar machine will greatly increase the pulling power of the skid steer loader or similar machine by penetrating the ground surface with the 5 foot wide heavy blade which has serrated teeth on the bottom. This is the first step in anchoring the machine. The second step is to hydraulically power the top of the blade forward which contacts two large cast ductile iron feet which have 60 teeth into the ground. The weight of the machine is then added for more down pressure to further anchor the device for winching.
One advantage of this device is that larger vehicles or loads can be winched from further distances away since the winch spool will hold over 200 feet of cable.
Another advantage is the lack of stress on the skid steer loader or similar machine. Most skid steer loaders used for this operation have wide rubber tracks powered by steel sprockets. Rubber tracks are easily damaged by extreme pulling. With this device all the machine has to do is get to the location, anchor the device and provide the hydraulic power system to operate the winch.
The skid steer loader performs its job easily, the transmission remains in neutral and there is no stress on the rubber tracks made by the steel sprockets.
2. Description of Related Art
Presently when wrecker service companies are called to remote areas under bad conditions they work under the mileage and hourly rate charge guide regulated by State Department of Public Safety Agencies.
The mileage charge can be determined and the hourly charge per hour can be determined but the number of hours and pieces of equipment required depends on the operation and if you have the right equipment or not. Some jobs can be reached with 4 wheel drive wreckers and others cannot. The jobs that can't be reached with 4 wheel drive wreckers usually require machines with tracks.
Many wrecker services have skid steer loaders with wide rubber tracks. They load the skid steer loader on the rollback wrecker and haul it as close as they can to the stuck vehicle, unload the skid steer loader and drive it to the stuck vehicle. This is not an ideal piece of equipment for this type of work but it works most of the time with the aid of chains, cables, and blocks. If the job cannot be performed by the skid steer loader the next option is a dozer which is much more expensive due to the cost of hauling the machine and paying the operators wages. Track hoes are also used for this operation.
The present invention solves this problem fast, keeps hourly cost to a minimum and doesn't damage track parts since the winch does all the work and the skid steer loader simply transports the device, anchors it to the ground and provides the hydraulic system to power the winch. Safety is increased since this device requires less rigging with only 1 point to hookup and can be done by 1 man while the operator sits inside the cab of the skid steer loader up to 200 feet away.
The tracked skid steer loader equipped with this off road winching device is a very fast and affordable piece of equipment which will do the job and do it safely.